Fallen
by TheKeybladeForger
Summary: His heart, born to fill the void of broken wings. Time once winding down and spinning forward, is stilled within him until the Hour of Judgment. And he-the Harbinger-shall be seen standing before the end of all things. And there he shall speak before the Last: "Remember to fight for what is yours, else you risk to lose all that you have." (Shadow of Wings Remake)


**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, this is purely fan-made!

**Note: **I finally found it! So here's the real version of this chapter and please read and review because it's almost time for me to do another purge where I delete stories that either don't have enough views, followers, reviews, or I just plain don't feel like working on them anymore. Besides, there are still a lot of them that are in dire need of an update and I have to re-read them all over again. Maybe I'll visit the forums and ask for some advice before I update anything else. Either way, please enjoy and give me any suggestions if you have them!

~Chapter 1: Snowfall and Ashes~

_His heart, born to fill the void of broken wings._

_Time once winding down and spinning forward, is stilled within him until the Hour of Judgment._

_And he-the Harbinger-shall be seen standing before the end of all things._

_And there he shall speak before the Last:_

"_Remember to fight for what is yours,_

_Else you risk to lose all that you have."_

* * *

The first thing that Kale became aware of upon regaining consciousness was the feeling of something cold surrounding him, softly blanketing his cheeks. And when Kale finally opened his eyes to see what it was, there was snow everywhere he looked. A world of complete purity, now tainted by the color of his blood spreading all around him like a rose blooming out of season.

Kale couldn't move his body at all at first since it was paralyzed with the terrible pain that kept shooting up his spine every time he shifted even slightly. Not to mention the bitter cold was rapidly sapping his strength. And soon, the darkness beckoning him back felt almost welcoming compared to the agony he was in. There was nowhere else for him to run now from this anguish, only that darkness.

Strangely, this was his first thought rather than something along the lines of _'what happened to me...?'_ or _'where am I...?'_

Kale's eyes felt heavy and as the pain continued to raze him he longed to just give into death to escape it. But something else much deeper within Kale kept him from giving up just yet, although he wasn't sure what. After that he forced then his eyes open and once he managed to stand himself up, Kale started to blindly make his way forward in search of something, anything, that would serve as a sign that he was not completely alone.

He stopped moving though upon feeling something hot running down his face and slowly touched it with one of his gloved hands. Only to find that it was fresh blood streaking down his face from the long lesion on the side of his head. Withdrawing his hand Kale idly wondered if this wound had something to do with what had rendered him unconscious in the first place.

And...what had made him forget.

Stunned for a moment by this realization, Kale tried to recall who he was but couldn't remember anything apart his name. Nothing came to him though. Kale couldn't remember anything about himself, like where he was from or what sort of life he had led. Try as he might though Kale was unable to recall any of that, let alone how he got here or why he felt this strange urgency to keep moving, to run, to get away from there as soon as possible.

What could have happened to him to make him feel this way Kale wondered...?

Had he been attacked by someone and then left for dead here by his enemies? Or had he escaped to this place seeking refuse from those who were and collapsed from his injuries in the storm? Either way, Kale needed answers before his condition worsened. He had to keep moving, or else everything would end.

Soon after he started however, the faint sound of horses suddenly broke through the din of the snow-laced wind blowing in his ears. But before Kale could so much as turn to look in their direction, a sudden mind-numbing pain ignited in his skull, drowning out all other thought and he crumpled to the ground, senseless again.

His fate, like his past...unknown.

* * *

Meanwhile-as if called there by fate-a certain carriage on its way back to the castle in Small Shimaron when they saw Kale's bloodied form laying in the middle of the road. Although, only his dark hair stood out against the unbroken white all around them and revealed that he was there at all. Even the blood once staining the snow was now hidden underneath the new brilliant white coat covering the entire hillside and crowning all the surrounding trees...

Because this hillside as it turned out was none other than the same one where Sara-the King of Small Shimaron who was in the carriage at this very moment-met his dear friend Yuri for their visit last spring when his quest to capture the Demon King's heart and trust first began. Much had changed since then between them however, and like this hill now blanketed by all this clean snow, a new beginning was in store for them just as surely as the oncoming spring.

"Berias, why did we stop?" Sara asked his bodyguard casually, drawing back the curtain from his window and peering outside.

"There's someone in the road Sire," Berias promptly replied as he skillfully dismounted his horse, which he had been riding alongside the carriage as usual to protect his King. "Please remain here while I investigate."

Approaching the fallen figure with caution, Berias knelt down on one knee and swept off some of the snow covering him and his eyes widened slightly with shock when he finally saw Kale more clearly. His hair was a dark rich of black but dried blood covered most of his face and his skin was deathly pale so Berias could hardly make out the rest of his features. In fact if it wasn't for his shallow breathing, Berias would have thought Kale was already dead because of how cold his skin was.

Knowing that he needed to act quickly, Berias laid his hand on Kale's forehead and his hands began glowing with that familiar faint green light as he examined the severity of his condition. Of course he sensed right away that Kale was becoming weaker and closer to death by the second. Berias also felt the subtle heat a fever radiating from him once his healing powers managed to raise his body temperature again to a normal level. Then he decided that Kale needed to be brought inside for proper care before it was too late and Kale's high fever caused the last of his strength to burn out completely.

Unexpectedly, Kale's eyes snapped wide open and he grabbed Berias's wrist with surprising strength and just stared at him blankly. His eyes unfocused and extremely glazed with fever. That's when Berias saw that in fact, Kale's eyes weren't black like he anticipated but a bright shade of beautiful deep clear blue, like a wolf's eyes. And when Kale was looking up at him with those strange eyes, Berias calmly stared back, waiting to see what he would do.

Kale was clearly delirious when he asked Berias weakly, "Why...? Why was I born if I am dead? If living is a sin, then I-" but before he could finish, both of his hands went limp and Kale passed out again, breathing in unsteady gasps with his eyes fluttering sightlessly beneath his eyelids.

Finally becoming curious enough to leave the carriage despite Berias's warning, Sara stepped outside and came over to Berias. He wanted to see who it was for himself and had just came close enough to see when he too was startled by Kale's black hair. Not to mention his awful wounds and the pained grimace on his bloodstained face.

"Berias, is that-" Sara commented as he looked down at Kale in his arms, "-a Double-Black?"

Berias shook his head and carefully picked Kale up as he answered, "No Your Highness, he regained consciousness for a brief moment and I saw that his eyes are not black. They're blue. However, he appears to be badly wounded and we should bring him back to the castle right away. Or else he might not survive long enough for us to find out who he is or who did this to him."

After a moment's pause, Sara nodded and agreed, "Very well, then we will bring him to the castle at once and I will send out soldiers search the area for any clues regarding his assailants. Although, after that storm I highly doubt they'll find anything, which is probably why they just left him here," then he sighed and glanced down at Kale again as he mused, "In any case, regardless of whether his eyes and hair are both black if the usual trend is anything to go by, then this person is somehow associated with Yuri. After all, the only other two Double-Black's I have ever seen are his Great Wiseman and older brother so I doubt this person be any different," and after turning away with a swish of his long cape, he said bluntly, "Now, let's hurry and bring him home Berias."

"Yes Sire..."

* * *

_~Flashback~_

_As Kale delved deep into the shadows of his own heart and took hold of a piece of his broken memory, he saw himself leaning against the remains of what appeared to be a cathedral of some sort. Where he was watching the city below him burn with a heavy heart as he continued cradling his wounded shoulder, which was still bleeding freely._

_This was the only home he had ever known, the one place he felt safe, and now...it was gone._

_The roaring firelight reflected brightly in his eyes, and despite his expressionless mask, there was an aching regret and anger hidden behind them. He looked forlorn standing there silhouetted like a lone witness to the end of the world. And in that knowledge, the loneliness in his eyes was unmistakable._

_After realizing he had lingered for far too long, with a low curse under his breath Kale turned away from the condemned city and ran into the forest with inhuman speed. Gliding through the trees so swiftly it was as though they moved aside at his passing, going by in a blur of brown and green and other earthly tones._

_Distracted his own feelings of turmoil, Kale failed to notice where he was going and found himself tumbling over a cliff into the river below, plunging into the cold mountain waters. Unfortunately, Kale was easily swept away by the power of the raging current, unable to define what was up and what was down anymore as his entire body spiraled uncontrollably through the water. And before long Kale started losing consciousness almost as swiftly as the water was jetting forward along its wayward path into the unknown._

_Then, just as his head finally broke the surface, Kale's head was rammed against a formidable sized rock in the middle of the river and the sheer force of the blow knocked Kale unconscious; but not before Kale thought about the only thing that he thought mattered to him anymore-surviving. That was all that mattered in the end. He had to keep on living, no matter how painful it was to go on when Kale knew the truth that his own soul had never belonged to him. It belonged to the person he once was a long long time ago, the person who was the reason Kale had been hunted his entire life..._

_And the reason why he would never be free._

* * *

Once they returned to the castle, Kale was quickly brought to a room so that Berias could tend to his wounds and before they got infected. First of course, he had to find out where all of his wounds were so Kale was stripped down to nothing but his pants and Berias began by cleaning off all the dried blood on his body.

There was a shallow wound on the side of his head so Berias started with that and worked his way down to gradually heal him without wasting too much energy until he found the more serious wounds. Now that his shirt was gone, Berias discovered that Kale's most severe wound was a pair of deep gashes on his shoulder-blades in two perfectly straight lines down each side. These two wounds were most likely caused by someone who was also duel-wielder like himself, which at least gave Berias some idea of what happened to Kale. Apart from that though Berias saw no other wounds except for a few minor cuts and bruises littered across Kale's pale skin, many of them old and already half healed.

With a sigh, Berias turned Kale over to clean the wounds on his back when something else on Kale's skin caught his eye. Between Kale's shoulder-blades was a line of strange runes tattooed down the length of his spine to the small of his back that seemed to form a single word, or perhaps even a name of some kind. Each letter was written in a dark metallic blue-black ink that glinted strangely when his hand went over them, almost as if they were repelling his Esoteric powers through the magic imbued in those letters.

Even so, Berias had to try and heal those wounds before Kale bled out anymore and so he pressed both hands down between his shoulders and started to use his power again. It was hard because of the runes resistance at first, but fortunately whatever magic was in those letters was weakened now because of Kale's condition. So whatever they were meant to do-such as repel the use of magic on him-they had very little effect now. Berias only wondered why his powers had worked before when they were out in the snow if this sort of powerful enchantment was placed on Kale. What had changed...?

Several more hours passed before Berias was finally done healing all his wounds-including the minor ones-and backed away from Kale, slightly out of breath from using too much of his power in one setting. And while Kale's wounds were now on the mend, his fever was still burning strong so all Berias could do now was wait for his fever to break. There was nothing more he could do aside from just that.

On cue, Berias heard a knock on the door and called, "Come in."

It was Sara. And after closing the door behind him, he strode over to the bed and asked Berias calmly, "How is he?"

Berias shook his head and replied, "I've healed all of his serious wounds and a few minor ones but he still has a very high fever so it will be some time before he wakes up. His life should be out of danger now though unless the fever grows worse overnight. Other than that I cannot say for certain yet Your Majesty."

"I see," Sara mused, sitting down on the edge of the bed and petting Kale's head with an odd smile dancing on his lips, "If that's the case, I'll watch over him tonight and make sure he doesn't get any worse."

Berias's eyes widened, "You?"

Sara nodded without looking at Berias and said, "As you said, you've done everything you can on your end so now what he needs is someone to watch over him. After all, if he is a friend or perhaps even a relation of Yuri's then I must treat him with the utmost care. I've already prepared a letter for Yuri to confirm whether or not he knows this young man. If he doesn't then-" he smiled dangerously again, "-it would appear I have found myself another rare acquaintance."

* * *

That night as Sara was watching over Kale, he noticed how Kale's body was very lithe and well-built despite how sickly he looked right now. He still looked very strapping in the pale moonlight sifting through the remaining storm clouds outside and felt strangely drawn to him, like a compulsion. And as Sara's gaze fell on Kale's parted lips, they looked so soft and warm that Sara suddenly had the strange urge to kiss them despite his better judgment. No one would know. So very slowly, Sara began leaning down over Kale and while blinded by this odd new emotion swelling inside of him, he drew their lips closer and closer.

Sara stiffened though when Kale gasped and stirred slightly. But all that happened was that he tossed his head back against the pillows and Kale's face twisted in pain again as his entire body tensed, as if preparing for a blow. "No...not again," he muttered in his sleep, tossing his head to the side which caused the cloth on his forehead to slip.

"Who are you? What happened to you...?" Sara whispered softly as he drew back again and brushed some more of Kale's silky black hair from his face-feeling strangely protective of him-before gently replacing the damp cloth on his head.

Kale took another sharp breath and a tear rolled down his cheek as he spoke again, "It's all red. The sky...the earth...my body, everything is burning."

Unsure of whether Kale was talking in his sleep or if he was muttering deliriously again like Berias saw before, Sara took his hand and hushed, "It's alright, you're safe now."

With great effort, Kale opened his eyes upon hearing his voice and glanced at Sara holding his hand. Blinking in confusion a few times as his vision started to clear. However, after all of a sudden feeling alarmed that he was suddenly somewhere else Kale gasped and bolted upright as he jerked his hand back, only to end up doubling over in pain from the sudden movement aggravating his wounds. Gripping the covers until his knuckles turned white and grimacing.

His whole body still hurt as if he had been beaten all over. Although again, most of the pain centered on his shoulder blades. And for a moment they burned as if someone was pressing a hot brand to them, but once the pain subsided it was reduced to a dull throb.

"You shouldn't move so suddenly!" Sara warned seriously as he moved forward to help Kale sit back up again. "Your wounds still haven't fully healed and you have a terrible fever. Please, you need to lie back down."

Meeting his gaze, Kale turned to Sara with a blank stare and asked him suspiciously, "Who are you?"

"I'm Saralegui. But you can call me Sara." Sara smiled calmly, trying to reassure Kale that nothing was wrong.

In return, Kale looked at Sara thoughtfully before he frowned and said, "That's only what your name is. It still doesn't tell me anything about you," then, glancing around the room after settling back down on his pillows, Kale asked tiredly, "Where am I?"

Sara sighed and snickered in good humor as he stood up, "Well first of all, you're in Small Shimaron right now. Which just so happens to be my Kingdom. We were on our way home to the castle when Berias found you lying half-dead in the snow and I had you brought here. You've been unconscious ever since."

Kale simply nodded in response but said nothing to that at first. There was still so much he didn't understand, like how he got hurt in the first place or why he was here at all. But, it wasn't as if a complete stranger would know any of that so Kale was forced to bear it in silence. Although, the least Kale could do was thank Sara since he did save him after all.

"Thank you for saving me," Kale said formally before adding honestly, "But I have to wonder, why did you...?"

"There are a number of reasons-" Sara replied curtly, playing with a lock of his golden hair, "-for one, it would be inhuman of me to simply abandon someone in need lying right in front of me. And besides, it's not every day that I have the chance to meet someone with black hair aside from Yuri. So of course I am a bit curious myself as to how you got yourself into such a fine mess. After all, those wounds didn't appear on your body on their own now did they?"

"No," Kale admitted, looking up at the ceiling and wondering what he should do now.

He felt very out of place here and something still felt very wrong to Kale. Something was coming for him, he could sense it; something which made Kale's entire body quiver in fear. He hated the sensation. He hated not knowing what this strange feeling of dread was. This urge to run and not remembering why...

Looking at Kale's odd expression, Sara finally asked him, "By the way, I never did catch your name. What is it?"

"Kale," Kale replied without hesitation since he at least knew that much about himself.

Sara blinked, surprised that he was only giving his first name and repeated, "Kale is it? Well I must say, that name certainly suits you."

After that Kale managed to carefully prop himself up and then turned to Sara and pulled off the blankets to tentatively put his feet on the floor, flinching slightly as his shoulders twinged uncomfortably again as he turned his body. Still feeling a little woozy, Kale stood up and staggered a bit before he clutched his head as a wave of dizziness swept over him and sat back down on the edge of the bed.

Shaking his head as if to dispel the dizziness, Kale then told Sara very seriously, "Look, I'm grateful that you saved me, but I can't stay here. I can't explain why, but I just can't..." then he moved to stand up again, "I have to get away from here."

"I am well aware that someone may be hunting you, but I'm afraid I cannot let you leave the castle in your condition," Sara said firmly, placing his hands on Kale's shoulders and pushing him back down, "Also, I still don't know who you really are yet and I intend to find out. And I need to know that before I decide what to do with you."

_No escape._

Kale's heart jolted when that strangely familiar voice suddenly filled his head and he spun around in alarm. "Who's there?" he cried.

"Kale?" Sara asked sharply, "What's wrong?"

_You can't run from what you are. Kale. Not even by forgetting _who_ you are. And I _will_ find you. __No matter where you go, I'll always bring you back to me. You belong to me, now and forever..._

"Shut up!" Kale gasped, his face twisted with sheer terror. "Get out of my head!" he shouted, "You don't know anything about me!"

_Well-_the voice laughed lightly-_Now, neither do you._


End file.
